Weighty issues with big money

Fighters Mayweather and Alvarez ready to battle for $5M payday

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 9:07 pm, Friday, September 13, 2013

LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 13: Boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) offers Canelo Alvarez his championship belt during the official weigh-in for their bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 13, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fighters will meet in a WBC/WBA 154-pound title fight on September 14 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 177598163

Weight is always a big deal in fights, and it is center stage again in one of the biggest fights in recent years. Saturday night's megafight is officially for a version of the 154-pound title held by Alvarez, but it will be fought at a catch weight of 152 pounds that will be harder for Alvarez to make than it is for Mayweather.

"They're the ones who said they would fight at a lower weight," said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's manager. "We can't help it if Alvarez has idiots for managers, but we're going to take every advantage they give us."

Alvarez is physically bigger at 5 feet, 9 inches than Mayweather and has had to lose good amounts of weight in the final days in some of his recent fights just to get to the 154-pound class limit.

But when the chance came to move in to the upper stratosphere of fighters against Mayweather — with at least a $5 million payday attached to it — Alvarez had to give up a few pounds against a fighter more used to fighting at 147 pounds.

"They wanted me to go to 147," Alvarez said earlier this week. "I said that was physically impossible. Then they wanted 150 and then 151. I wanted to make the fight, so I agreed to 152. Then they forced me to be quiet about it."

Alvarez was 152 pounds at the official weigh-in Friday, delighting a raucous crowd of about 12,000 who packed the MGM Arena to watch. Mayweather weighed in at 1501/2.